sump/refuge

Alacard · 10-20-2003, 08:14 PM

Im new and still researching all this. im tring to make a refuge and sump out of a 29g glass tank. i was going to put a plexe glass devider in but i was told silicone wont connect to plexe has anyone done this? how did you do it??

thefatman · 10-20-2003, 08:33 PM

my display and fuge tanks are both glass. my overflows for both are acrylic.

i was told by the builder of my overflows that i should just silicone them in place. i've had no problems.

although it may make a differance that they are in the corners, versus being a flat divider across the tank. maybe silicone to acrylic doesnt have a stong enough hold.

though when i was originally going to build a sump out of glass, i was told then as well, that i could jsut silicone the acrylic dividers in place.

there is a lot of conflicting information in this hobby, and at times it can become quite annoying.

good luck, hopefully more poeple will chime in with an answer for you.

Geoff · 10-20-2003, 08:47 PM

silicone does not adhere well to acrylic. it will work fine for stuff like dividers and the like where the water pressure is pretty much equal on both sides. the silicone will adhere fine to the glass sides of the tank. this is one of those things where siliconing an acrylic divider into a glass tank will work, but not the other way around. Like Jay has been saying it can be done reliable if the pressure is helping you, overflows in the corners is a great example. the pressure of the water is forcing the acrylic agains the glass and against the silicone.

FYI-100% silicone also does not stick worth a flip to PVC. it will seperate over time and just peel right off. can not tell you how long it took me to get that through my thick head.

some silicone adhesives will work, but they are not 100% silicone. 100% silicone is what is recommended for aquarium repairs.

G~

Alacard · 10-20-2003, 09:04 PM

thanks i was thinking if i silicone both sides of the plexe how much could it move

Doug1 · 10-20-2003, 09:18 PM

I have had some luck on small sump, using superglue gel to spot glue the divider to the tank then use a thick layer of silicone on both sides. It works in low velocity fairly equal pressure applications
My son is a glazier so I have had scrap glass and a cutter to play with, its not that hard.
glass to glass with silicone is easy
acrylic to acrylic with Weldon 16 is easy
mixing gets interesting , good luck